The air on our faces was pleasantly warm and humid. A sharp contrast to the cold, drizzly darkness that we left behind. The first step of our journey to mark a 50th birthday celebration was jittery with excitement and anxiety. Who wouldn’t be excited and anxious at the same time? Fifty years is a golden celebration.

The Carnival Dream towered before us. Fifteen stories of cruise ship definitely looked enormous especially the first time we laid eyes on it. A wisp of smoke billowed from the mast head and undulated as if beckoning us to come on board. I can almost hear it say, “come on board and have some fun!”

The dreamy moment was almost popped like a bubble. The multiple lines of people waiting for their turn to go onboard snaked around a corner. I guess this cruise must be really fun!

The gangway was long and tortuous. Suffocating air and claustrophobic feeling complemented each other while walking inside a tunneled gangway. At the end of the gangway, past the ship rails, the pulsating music of the atrium moved people along towards their staterooms. Our small corner in the ship was a private hideaway. Compact and cozy! Luggages had already been parked outside our stateroom by our stewards. Yud, one of the stewards and a fellow from Indonesia, greeted us on our arrival. Yud provided excellent service and saw to it that our room remained clean and well stocked.

Food was everywhere! Grilled, sautéed, boiled, steamed, and fried – right in front for all to see. Watching the food cook was agonizing. The aroma and sight was whet enough to break control and eat. Dinner was special. We were pampered by our servers, Lou Bryan (from the Philippines) and Sinta (from Indonesia). Each time before dinner, we headed to the dining room with the promise to eat modestly but always ended up feeling stuffed to the brim.

The top decks were the hub of outdoor activities – lounge areas, swimming pools, water slides, saunas, sunbathing deck, mini golf course, and an outdoor walking track. The gym and massage area were on the same deck but indoors. At night, the deck transforms into a movie viewing area or a dance area. There was always something happening!

Below deck was a hodgepodge of activities – techno music dancing, country music, stage dancing and singing, string instrument trio, woodwind instrument trio, piano bar music, the casino and its steady hum of voices and sounds, karaoke singing, and much more. It took a little bit of talented scheduling to keep up with the activities.

There was one day during the four day cruise that we spent on the island of Cozumel. That was another adventure worth telling. The one day tour on the island of Cozumel reminded me of Cancun. The hotel resort where we stayed in Cancun also offered a lot of activities but they were all in or around the hotel resort area.

Four days of the 50th birthday celebration on the Carnival Dream ended. It was the best decision made to mark a milestone. We disembarked the cruise ship with the pulsating music still in our minds. The line of people still snaked along the long and tortuous gangway. We left with the pleasantly warm and humid air on our faces knowing that soon the biting cold will be meeting us.